more welding practice, PP205

[presure2]

hey guys, havent been posting much lately, you know what they say, "life happens!!" lol anyway, had a chance last night to get out in the garage and get some more welding practice in.
over the past few months, i've been mostly practicing just laying beads, as jody would say "short arc, long arc, heiliarc in the dark!" just stacking dimes, getting a feel for the footpedal and torch in my hand, ect.
i did a couple projects a while back that came out ok, (a couple sections of aluminum intercooler piping, and some exhaust work) but were very inconsistant as far as bead profile, penetration ect, just because of my lack of seat time.
so, i figured it was time to stop laying beads, and start practicing actual joints.
i hacked up a few peices of 6061-T6 1/8" aluminum, and fabbed up this little thingy..
using the following settings ect:
~99amps footpedal controlled(floored pretty much all the way thruout)
3/32 4043 filler
3/32 yellow tungsten
a/c freq. ~ 100 or so
a/c balance ~ 40%

fitup was pretty poor, i was trying to set it up to weld it as an "outside corner joint" i guess you would call it, but because i cut it out with a 4.5" angle grinder, it was pretty inconsistant, overlapping in some spots.
it the spots where i did get the fitup i was looking for, i was able to get it to keyhole a bit, and was able to get pretty good penetration.
spots where it dont look like the toes are wet in too well is where the crappy fitup came into play.
helpful tips or comments are welcomed, and appreciated! (that means YOU jake, you always give great advice! haha)
on to the pics!







thanks in advance!

[MigPlazArc]

hey guys, havent been posting much lately, you know what they say, "life happens!!" lol anyway, had a chance last night to get out in the garage and get some more welding practice in.
over the past few months, i've been mostly practicing just laying beads, as jody would say "short arc, long arc, heiliarc in the dark!" just stacking dimes, getting a feel for the footpedal and torch in my hand, ect.
i did a couple projects a while back that came out ok, (a couple sections of aluminum intercooler piping, and some exhaust work) but were very inconsistant as far as bead profile, penetration ect, just because of my lack of seat time.
so, i figured it was time to stop laying beads, and start practicing actual joints.
i hacked up a few peices of 6061-T6 1/8" aluminum, and fabbed up this little thingy..
using the following settings ect:
~99amps footpedal controlled(floored pretty much all the way thruout)
3/32 4043 filler
3/32 yellow tungsten
a/c freq. ~ 100 or so
a/c balance ~ 40%

fitup was pretty poor, i was trying to set it up to weld it as an "outside corner joint" i guess you would call it, but because i cut it out with a 4.5" angle grinder, it was pretty inconsistant, overlapping in some spots.
it the spots where i did get the fitup i was looking for, i was able to get it to keyhole a bit, and was able to get pretty good penetration.
spots where it dont look like the toes are wet in too well is where the crappy fitup came into play.
helpful tips or comments are welcomed, and appreciated! (that means YOU jake, you always give great advice! haha)
on to the pics!







thanks in advance!

Wow! Looks Great! Are you gonna use that for something or is it practice only?

[presure2]

thanks, man! no real plan for it, it was just practice, this morning my daughter decided she wanted to put all her coloring pencils in it, so i guess it found a use! LMAO!!

[jerky]

i suggest starting with your fitup. your welds look great but if the piece your going to weld isnt fitup correctly, then you will always have problems, no matter how good a welder one is. it might take a little bit more time to get a joint fitup nicely, but it will be easier to weld and you will be happier in the end. its just one thing thats easy to control when welding.

[DVA]

How hot was your torch when welding ~100 amps?

[presure2]

when i finished one side, it was definetly warm..but not too bad, i kept on truckin once i got the other side fitup. anything over 150amps, it heats up pretty quickly

[DVA]

150 amps is getting at it, I have only tig welded with a water cooled torch and life was nice. I would assume that you can hang on to the back of the handel if the torch gets too hot, I do this some times when mig welding. Thanks for the info.

[presure2]

i've only welded up ~ 160amps a handful of times on some 3/16 (i think anyway..lol) aluminum playing around for practice, the torch gets good and warm after a handful of beads, but give it a few minutes to cool (smoke break!) and its good to go again.
i'll tell ya man, for everything i've used it for (which admittadly isnt really THAT much other than prolly 4-5 tanks(80) of argon worth of practice, a exhaust b-pipe and some intercooler piping for a friend, and this little project) its really worked perfectly.
the footpedal takes some getting used to, but overall, for the price i paid i feel like i more than got my moneys worth.
oleg and crew answered all my questions, were helpful in helping me choose the correct welder for my application, and were there for me every step of the way thruout my purchase.
fortunately for me, i havent had any issues with the unit since it arrived that has required me to get any kind of service, but i feel confident that if that need ever arrises, that they will take care of me.